I don't think my Jhay will ever forget what happened to him yesterday. He called me and he was ranting the whole time. HE WAS VICTIMIZED BY A CREDIT CARD SCAM.
Here’s a quick story of how it happened (errr.. how he narrated it to me)
Around 2:30 pm, someone who introduced himself as a staff of East West Bank called him in the office offering a VIP card. This person knows that his EWB credit card has been with him only for a week or less that’s why he’s given a chance to avail of this sort of upgrade. Jhay was told that with this VIP card comes a lot of perks like discounts in hotels, boutiques and restaurants, thus he was convinced to continue the conversation. It is essential to note that the whole time, the guy was talking too fast and Jhay hardly understood most of what he’s saying. This could be part of the propaganda. He also kept on saying that they are not like credit card companies having annual fees, interest rates, etc.
After all the sales talk, the guy was asking for his credit card number. Jhay was surprised because he knew the first few digits and was just asking him to supply the rest. Unsuspecting, he gave his CC number and all the other information the person from the other line asked for. He didn’t worry much because after all, the guy is from EWB, or at least that what he said.
The “guy from EWB” got all the nitty-gritty. He was even telling Jhay that since his birthday is around the corner (July 27th), they should go on a drinking session. Uh, are they that close already?! Later during the call, the guy transferred the phone to his supposedly manager who enthusiastically told Jhay “Welcome to the club!” Afterwards, the conversation ended. But it was no short call. It actually took 30 to 45 minutes of Jhay’s time.
Jhay had a gut feel that something’s not right with that call so he asked an officemate about it. His officemate said he shouldn’t have given his credit card information because that’s a scam. He immediately called EWB’s customer service hotline and that’s when his hunch was confirmed. He already has a floating charge of PhP 5,850.00 made by METRO CARE SERVICES!!!
Jhay asked the EWB customer service representative what he could do about this. He was told that the only way to remove the floating charge is to have Metro Care cancel the transaction. And that will only happen if he will be able to contact the said effin’ swindlers. We tried searching for contact numbers over the net but what we found were a lot of blogs all the other victims have written. Apparently, this had happened to HSBC, SCB and Citibank credit card holders as well. Click the links if you want to know more about this.
Now the only thing Jhay could do is to wait for the “VIP card” to arrive and make it a point not to sign anything from the courier because the moment he signs it, the PhP5,850 will already be charged to his card. He is also planning to either have his card replaced or totally cancel his EWB card.
I hope this serves as a caution to all card holders out there. Be extra vigilant. Don’t be deceived by promos and amazing offers because they are just too good to be true.
And as for you honey, looks like you learned your lesson the hard way, huh?
Here’s a quick story of how it happened (errr.. how he narrated it to me)
Around 2:30 pm, someone who introduced himself as a staff of East West Bank called him in the office offering a VIP card. This person knows that his EWB credit card has been with him only for a week or less that’s why he’s given a chance to avail of this sort of upgrade. Jhay was told that with this VIP card comes a lot of perks like discounts in hotels, boutiques and restaurants, thus he was convinced to continue the conversation. It is essential to note that the whole time, the guy was talking too fast and Jhay hardly understood most of what he’s saying. This could be part of the propaganda. He also kept on saying that they are not like credit card companies having annual fees, interest rates, etc.
After all the sales talk, the guy was asking for his credit card number. Jhay was surprised because he knew the first few digits and was just asking him to supply the rest. Unsuspecting, he gave his CC number and all the other information the person from the other line asked for. He didn’t worry much because after all, the guy is from EWB, or at least that what he said.
The “guy from EWB” got all the nitty-gritty. He was even telling Jhay that since his birthday is around the corner (July 27th), they should go on a drinking session. Uh, are they that close already?! Later during the call, the guy transferred the phone to his supposedly manager who enthusiastically told Jhay “Welcome to the club!” Afterwards, the conversation ended. But it was no short call. It actually took 30 to 45 minutes of Jhay’s time.
Jhay had a gut feel that something’s not right with that call so he asked an officemate about it. His officemate said he shouldn’t have given his credit card information because that’s a scam. He immediately called EWB’s customer service hotline and that’s when his hunch was confirmed. He already has a floating charge of PhP 5,850.00 made by METRO CARE SERVICES!!!
Jhay asked the EWB customer service representative what he could do about this. He was told that the only way to remove the floating charge is to have Metro Care cancel the transaction. And that will only happen if he will be able to contact the said effin’ swindlers. We tried searching for contact numbers over the net but what we found were a lot of blogs all the other victims have written. Apparently, this had happened to HSBC, SCB and Citibank credit card holders as well. Click the links if you want to know more about this.
Now the only thing Jhay could do is to wait for the “VIP card” to arrive and make it a point not to sign anything from the courier because the moment he signs it, the PhP5,850 will already be charged to his card. He is also planning to either have his card replaced or totally cancel his EWB card.
I hope this serves as a caution to all card holders out there. Be extra vigilant. Don’t be deceived by promos and amazing offers because they are just too good to be true.
And as for you honey, looks like you learned your lesson the hard way, huh?
Social Engineering 101: Bombard your target with information and they will eventually give some in return.
ReplyDeletewhat happened to his case? i was duped by these guys too. they billed me through EW also. the amount is still floating. they called me last sept. 16, but i haven't received any package (not that i intend to).
ReplyDeletehi abigail! BF didn't sign the slip when the package was delivered. make sure you do the same because that way, they can't charge the amount to you. it'll remain floating and (accdg to him) floating accounts will be cancelled after 15 days of not turning over the charge slip.
ReplyDelete